A podcast about Memphis and the creatives who live there.

Episode #029: Leah Keys, Spillit | Amurica Photo

The affable Leah Keys came by for Spillit pt 2 in 2015. Spillit is true, unscripted stories told in front of a live audience in Memphis, Tennessee. Today, you get the scoop on Spillit origins, naming, logo, and breakthroughs. Plus, Spillit evolves with the Spillit story station and Leah talks here dropping details about the new initiative.

Telling a good story
Don’t just tell what happened.
Talk about why it happened.
Talk about how it made you feel.
Paint a picture.
Keep it in the present tense.
Stories spanning years are more difficult. Try for single occurences.
Start your story in action

Sean Mosley

Eric Clausen

Ryan Azada

“there’s blood, and sweat, and tears erywhere in that room” leah

“it’s intense either way, whether we’re laughing or weeping” leah

“”i was ready for some really intense work at @amurica” leah

“I was really inspired by the St. Louis city museum, and I thought, I’m gonna take this back to our space” leah

“we love being in crosstown, they’re so supportive of spillit” leah

“working with crosstown was a crucial part of spillit’s start” leah

“once I found out there was this place and these supportive people, I was like oh no, now I have to do this” leah

“finding storytellers was not as hard as I thought it was going to be” leah

“any time you do something for the first time, it’s pretty crazy. I really didn’t know what I was gonna get” leah

“…that’s pretty crazy for a friday night, for a basement in Crosstown…” leah

“once the moth came through, that solidified true storytelling in Memphis” leah

“I was really lonely so I listened to people’s stories on the Moth, and it was really powerful to build a connection with strangers” leah

“that curiosity about other people’s stories never went away” leah

“when I moved back to midtown i was curious about all of the stories the people around me had.” leah

“josh campbell and I had known each other for 13 years, but it wasn’t until spillit that I really got to know him.” leah

“it was like something beautiful that had been sealed over, cracked open, it was so incredible” leah

“we really are all one-of-a-kind individuals” leah

“i was having a lot of dreams that I was pregnant, there was something creative that I felt I was going to give birth to.” leah

“the word spillit has been in my vocabulary since @outkast “stank on ya” came out” leah

“spillit gurl, spillit!” leah

“it was really overwhelming, it was really an emotional rollercoaster for me” leah

“it was important for me to honor the storyteller’s perspective” leah

“in 2014 I took a storytelling workshop with Peter Aguero and it was a pivotal point for the types of stories we got from our storytellers” leah

“it works a lot better to have everyone together. you can hear from different perspectives” leah

“it’s about overcoming all of those ways we doubt ourselves” leah

“it’s nice to hear different feedback from a diverse group” leah

“to connect with your audience, you have to be willing to get vulnerable” leah

“talk about why it happened, and how it made you feel” leah

“own your feelings” leah

“that’s often a powerful story, when there’s shame involved, and people own it” leah

“there’s a big chunk of it that’s story work, but there’s a big chunk of it that is also creative therapy” leah

“there are a lot of tears, a lot of intense emotions, a lot of support and encouragement, those workshops are intense.” leah

“we don’t push people to tears unless they want them” leah

“you can’t connect as deeply with your audience if you’re just telling people what happened” leah

“you wouldn’t in any other situation in your life put that type of work in front of yourself” leah

“aaaaaaaaand… cry” leah

“Start your story on action, tell it in the present tense, know the first line, and know the last line of your story before you go up.” leah

“i may have forgotten your name, but i remember your story” billy

“we’re all human beings, and we all share a lot of the same values” leah

“you can make a story out of just paying attention to what you do everyday” leah

“all of these things are a story… “ leah

“do you ever narrate your life?” andrew

“spillit is going mobile!” leah

“i’ve learned more about trailers than i ever wanted to know” leah

“he had to load the trailer into the other trailer” leah

“i kilzed it, but I did not spill the kilz” leah

“this will be just like my first spillit event, I’m learning, I’m excited” leah

“spillit story booth, for all your dead stories” leah

“it’s all part of the story” leah

“not everybody’s comfortable telling their story in front of an audience, that’s why we made the trailer” leah